Faculty Bibliography

Summary: Researchers grow two types of tissue in a laboratory, then inject them back into the patient, prompting a strong immune response Scientists at Stanford University say they have developed a novel way to generate a powerful immune response targeted specifically against non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. The Stanford researchers start the multistep process by removing two kinds of tissue from a lymphoma patient. One tissue is a dendritic cell, which is important in stimulating immune reactions in humans. The cells are obtained from the blood. The second tissue is the lymphoma, which is removed by a biopsy and from which researchers isolate a protein from the surface of the cancerous cells. The protein is specific for each patient's cancer

The drug AZT appears to reduce substantially the risk of infection with the AIDS virus for health workers who are accidentally stuck with needles or other sharp instruments, federal health officials said Thursday. AZT reduced the risk of infection from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, by 79 percent, the study found. The study is believed to be the first to assess the potential risk factors from needle-stick injuries, which are a common and frightening problem for health-care workers. But only 46 of the more than 500,000 reported AIDS cases have been documented as resulting from occupational exposure, Dr. Denise Cardo, an epidemiologist at the disease agency, said in a telephone interview. AZT failed to prevent infection in at least eight cases, according to medical journals

In a radical cross-species experiment fraught with risk but with implications for treating many diseases, scientists on Thursday night injected bone marrow removed from a baboon into a 38-year-old man with AIDS. The patient, Jeff Getty, underwent a procedure much like a blood transfusion. About a pint of straw-colored fluid containing the baboon cells dripped into a vein in Getty's arm from a plastic bag that hung by his hospital bed. The goal of the highly controversial experiment is to augment Getty's marrow, not replace it. Because Getty's own cells will remain infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, a successful procedure would not cure AIDS. But it would produce a double, or chimeric, immune system that could resist further infection from HIV, and fight so-called opportunistic infections, otherwise minor illnesses that can be fatal for someone with AIDS

Three reports on breast cancer have confirmed earlier findings that for small tumors detected at an early stage of the disease, less extensive surgery followed by radiation is as effective as removing the entire breast. The less extensive surgery entails cutting out the cancer and small amounts of adjacent tissue in a procedure known as a lumpectomy. The new reports, in the current issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, include an audit of a trial of breast cancer treatment in which a Canadian doctor admittedly falsified some records. The audit was conducted by the National Cancer Institute, the government agency that paid for the flawed study, one of a series known as the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh

Mr. Grinkov's heart stopped while he and Ms. Gordeyeva were practicing for an ice show. Mr. Grinkov said he felt dizzy and gently slumped to the ice. At first, those around Mr. Grinkov thought he had been seized with a recurrence of low back pain and sciatica and wanted to rest. But Mr. Grinkov did not respond. So his coach immediately started CPR in front of Ms. Gordeyeva and other shocked onlookers. He was soon joined by an emergency medical technician who was in the arena. 'Although it now seems clear that he was dead from the beginning, as time went on you just felt life slipping away and the likelihood of recovery less and less, and finally you resort to putting a needle in the heart' to inject a stimulant, epinephrine, Dr. Schwartzberg said. When the last ditch effort was unsuccessful, Dr. Schwartzberg said he had 'the painful but agonizing decision of saying, this is futile, let's not go any further.' He pronounced Mr. Grinkov dead. Mr. Grinkov's death was a medical mystery, and an autopsy would be performed because this was a death that could not be explained by a personal physician. Dr. Schwartzberg knew there would be speculation about what had caused Mr. Grinkov to die. So he made a point of discussing the autopsy with Ms. Gordeyeva and seeking her consent for it. There had been no history of abusing drugs, but Dr. Schwartzberg and the pathologist wanted toxicology tests to be sure. She agreed.

Edward B. Lewis, Eric F. Wieschaus and Christiane Nusslein-Volhard won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Oct 9, 1995 for discovering how genes control the early structural development of the body. All three studied the fruit fry to begin to unravel the secrets of how embryos develop from a single cell into well-differentiated anatomical structures like brains and legs. The research helps to explain birth defects in humans

Proliferation and differentiation in many cells are linked to specific changes in transmembrane ion fluxes. Previously, we have identified a nonspecific cation channel in keratinocytes, which is permeable to and activated by Ca++. To test whether this cation channel might serve as a pathway for Ca++ entry, we examined the effect of blocking this channel on membrane currents, markers of differentiation, and intracellular Ca++. In patch clamp studies, 10(-8) to 10(-6) M amiloride decreased the single-channel open probability. The same concentrations of amiloride inhibited the calcium-induced formation of cornified envelopes and activity of transglutaminase in a dose-dependent fashion. Amiloride inhibited the long-term rise of intracellular Ca++ induced by raised extracellular Ca++, without blocking the initial increase of intracellular Ca++. Amiloride at concentrations of 10(-7) to 10(-3) M did not change the resting intracellular pH of keratinocytes, although concentrations of 10(-6) M or greater inhibited the recovery from NH4(+)-induced acidification. To test whether the effect of amiloride was toxic, we measured DNA synthesis in the presence or absence of amiloride. DNA synthesis was unchanged, suggesting that amiloride's actions were not due to toxic effects. Although the exact mechanisms of amiloride's action remains to be determined, these experiments suggest that this compound may inhibit keratinocyte differentiation by blocking the nonspecific cation channel

Questions have arisen about the implications of notifying drug abusers of their HIV serostatus. One major concern is that awareness of HIV infection would have a negative impact on abstinence from drug abuse. In order to ascertain the effects of serostatus notification, the authors reviewed the clinical records of 73 methadone patients who learned of their serostatus within 20 weeks after enrolling in the clinic and thereafter remained in treatment for at least 1 year. They found that, at serostatus notification, seropositive patients were more likely to be socially disadvantaged and were younger than the seronegatives at first opiate use. After serostatus notification, seropositives had more 'fair hearings' for noncompliance with program norms and used more cocaine. Although the patients notified of HIV infection may have more behavioral problems, further research is needed to determine whether or not this reflects antecedent behavior patterns and drug use